THE VOTER May 2010
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF ADAMS COUNTY www.lwvadamscounty.org
Meeting Locations: GANDER MTN. in the THORNTON TOWN CENTER,
Marge Innes- Phone contact: 303-327-3235
Board Meetings: The dates are noted on the calendar. Members are invited to attend.
Please be aware of possible changes in meeting times or places and special events. Changes will appear on this calendar and/or on the website. An attempt will be made to contact all members.
Please call one of the above members for information, directions or a ride.
Monday, April 12, 7:00 p.m. Annual Meeting Please bring slate of officers and proposed budget with you. These will be found in this newsletter.
Monday, April 26 a.m. Home Rule Mr. Bueche is retired from the City of Thornton and is a past president of the Municipal League. He will conduct a conversation about "home rule": what it means to be a home rule city, the number of home rule cities in CO, how home rule is established, the benefits of being a home rule city, what guidelines home rule cities must follow with regard to State and Federal laws/regulations, etc.
Monday, May 10, 7:00 Sustainability
Judy Nicholaisen will show us “The Story of Stuff” which is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Monday, May 17, 7:00 p.m. Board Meeting
Monday, May 24, 11:30 a.m. Legislative Wrapup
Cherilyn Peniston, League member and Colorado Legislator, will give us a summary of the legislative accomplishments this season. This is our last meeting until September.
Saturday, June 12, 6:30 p.m. Big Fabulous Fund Raiser
See next page for information.
Monday, August 16, 6:30 p.m. Annual Picnic
Every year at this time we start off the year with our annual picnic. This year it will be held at the home of Marge and Steve Innes. Address and phone number at top of this page. All members and significant others welcome. Please RSVP.
Monday, August 23, 7:00 p.m. Program Planning Yearly Calendar Planning Meeting - no location yet
Monday, September 13, 7:00 November Ballot Issues A member of The Bell Policy Center will talk about their research on three ballot measures on the November ballot – Proposition 101, Amendments 60 & 61. The Bell's work rests on the twin pillars of solid, objective research and responsible advocacy. Specifically, they work with Coloradans across the political spectrum to identify critical policy issues, conduct nonpartisan research on issues that impact many Coloradans, share the results of our research with policy-makers, community leaders and the people of Colorado to encourage responsible public dialogue and debate.
THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF ADAMS COUNTY
INVITE YOU TO OUR FOURTH ANNUAL WINE TASTING/BUFFET FUND RAISER
SATURDAY, June 12, 2010, 6:30 p.m. AT SPERO WINERY
3316 W. 64th Ave, Denver
Join us to sample muscat, chardonnay, zinfandel, merlots, cabernet sauvignons, cabernet franc, and syrah wines made at this local winery by vintner Clyde Spero from grapes grown in the only urban vineyard in Colorado.
To accompany the wine, June Spero will prepare a fabulous buffet with multiple antipastos including roasted peppers, stuffed mushrooms, Kalamata olive tapenade, pimento olive/ripe olive tapenade, tomato oregano salad with garlic crostini, celery salad, marinated artichoke hearts, copanata (eggplant), and marinated fresh mozzarella. The main course includes a tray of various salamis and cheese, meatballs and sauce and sausages with peppers and onions. A cheese table with various Italian cheeses, soft cheeses with wine jelly and grapes and a dessert table with homemade Italian cookies and fresh strawberries with chocolate and ambrosia dips will further entice you.
Contact Shirley Mrochek, Treasurer, League of Women Voters of Adams County (address below) or email at kmro1@msn.com (by June 5)for reservations. Cost is $35.00 ($10.00 goes for local educational activities of the league in Adams County). Space is limited.
If you are unable to attend and wish to make a donation, please mail your check to Shirley Mrochek, 10781 Wanda Lane, Northglenn, CO 80234
WINE TASTING/FUND RAISER Pat Campbell
The time is getting closer. We hope you already have Saturday June 12th 6:30pm, at Spero’s Winery, on your calendar. RSVP by June 1st as we have limited space. This is a wonderful way to spend an evening with family and friends and to financially support our league. Clyde and June Spero are our hosts. Clyde pours the wine as you will be able to sample 14 different wines including a Vino Ghiacciato this dessert wine was made from Merlot grapes, which were frozen immediately after being crushed. This “iced” dessert wine has very concentrated flavors. It is sweet, with wonderful berry flavors, but lower in alcohol than many other dessert wines. So get your palates ready. To accompany the wine June prepares a fabulous buffet with multiple antipastos, trays of various salamis and cheese, meatballs with sauce, sausages with peppers & onions, soft cheeses with wine jelly and grapes. For dessert we have homemade Italian cookies and fresh strawberries with chocolate and ambrosia dips to entice you further. So bring your appetites. Cost is $35.00 ($10.00 goes to our league for educational activities). RSVP Shirley Mrochek 303-452-0598. See you there!
Marge’s Musings Marge Innes, Voter Service and acting V. P.
On April 26 at Borders we had an excellent meeting with our guest speaker, Ken Bueche. Ken is an attorney and lives in Arvada. He served as Executive Director of the Colorado Municipal League from 1974 to 2005. He has a longtime interest in municipal home rule and has written publications on the history and implications of home rule. These are available from the CO Municipal League at the website and phone no. given below.
There are 271 cities and towns in Colorado: 100 are home rule, and 170 are statutory. One city, Georgetown, is a territorial city, that is Georgetown became a city while Colorado was still a territory (before 1876) and has never changed its status, probably for historical interest. Statutory cities are governed by the State Legislature guidelines. Home rule cities have their own charters which delineate their method of governance, elections, etc. Most large cities, including Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, Brighton,and Federal Heights,
are home rule, and most small and very small towns are statutory. This home rule thing started in Colorado in 1902 when Araphoe County split and Adams County and Denver County were formed. The State Legislature, being situated in Denver, decided to take charge of some of Denver's services, such as fire and police. A Constitutional Amendment was passed by the voters to give cities in Colorado the ability to have "home rule". So Denver adopted home rule at that time as well as other large cities like Colorado Springs,
Pueblo, Durango, Grand Junction, Fort Collins, and Greeley.*
Ken also spoke about county home rule. County home rule, as delineated in the Colorado Constitution, is not as flexible as municipal home rule. There are only two home rule counties in CO: Weld and Pitkin. The number of commissioners can be changed without becoming a home rule county.
The meeting was very interesting. We asked lots of questions and learned a lot. The Colorado Municipal League website is: www.cml.org and the phone is 303-831-6411.
*I believe that this list is pretty much correct. However, don't hold me to it.
Notes from the April Board meeting Ruth Richards; Secretary
In review of past meetings, all who went to the Thornton Water Treatment Plant said it was a great tour. The tour guide was excellent and enthusiastic. He commented our group asked more questions than any other group. This is a common comment for our league members. The Annual Meeting went smoothly and Cathy O'Grady's presentation of her pictures from India were an eye opener. Her explanation of the pictures and her visit was well done. We only wished there had been more time.
Future meetings in April and May will have Ken Bueche speak on Home Rule, The Story of Stuff film, and Legislative wrap up by Cherilyn Peniston. The Wine Tasting Fundraiser will be June 12. The summer picnic will be August 16. We hope to kick off the Fall meetings with someone to speak about Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 & 61, which will be on the ballot in November. Marge Innes will also speak on ballot issues at the October 11 meeting.
We will discuss an increase in dues at the August planning meeting, as by then we will know how much LWVUS dues increase will be.
Shirley Mrochek and Marge Innes will attend LWVCO state Council in May. This will be held in Estes Park. Pat Campbell will attend if Marge is unable to go.
We reviewed the questionnaire 'Local League Vitality and Training Needs Assessment Tool'. Judy Nicholaisen will forward our completed answers to LWVUS.
Online resources for information on health-care reform
Tuesday, April 6, 2010; HE06 (Thanks to Kaaren Hardy for this post)
The ink was hardly dry on the health-care overhaul law when foundations, industry groups and consumer advocates began putting together guides to the new rules. Here are some Web sites worth keeping an eye on:
-- Kff.org: The Kaiser Family Foundation Web site has a lot of thorough information. To get started, under "New & Noteworthy," click on "summary of the law" for a good synopsis, and on "timeline" to see when various provisions of the law are scheduled to kick in.
-- Familiesusa.org: Families USA is a nonprofit advocacy organization for health-care consumers. Click on the link to "Health Reform Central" to see just about everything you need to know about the new law. To get a recap of the major changes, click on the link that begins "Help is on the way" on the homepage.
-- Healthinsuranceproviders.com: Click on "Health Care Reform" to see a timeline that's less descriptive than Kaiser's, but easier to grasp visually. The site belongs to an online insurance broker; if you're looking for health insurance, be sure to shop around other sites and brokers.
-- Whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections: This is straight from the Obama administration. Keep in mind, it helped write the law. Tune out the superlatives and compare the information with the facts from advocacy groups such as Medicare Rights Center.
-- Consumerreports.org/health: From Consumer Reports, a range of useful information. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on "Health-care reform."
-- Bankrate.com: From a Web site where borrowers hunt for low mortgage rates and savers look for high-interest CDs, there's a summary with a good focus on costs. Type "reform" into the search box, and click on "What's in it for you."
-- Marchofdimes.com: The March of Dimes summarizes key new provisions for women and children. Click on "In the news."
-- Medicarerights.org: The Medicare Rights Center summarizes key new provisions for seniors; click on the big box that says "learn more about health reform and Medicare."
Stay tuned -- in the coming weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services plans to launch a Web site on health-care reform including links to health insurance options it deems affordable in each state.
Later this month, The Post, in partnership with PublicAffairs, will be publishing a book on the new legislation, including a consumer guide to its impact. "Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health-Care Law and What it Means for Us All" can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com and other book Web sites.
-- Francesca Lunzer Kritz
Thanks to you all Margaret Stuvel
This will be the last issue of our newsletter until the September edition. The deadline for this issue will be August 27. Thanks to you all for doing such a great job of keeping all our members and friends informed.
Have a great, relaxing and regenerative summer.
“The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.”
Mission Statement
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Dues are $48 per year, pro-rated after January 1stto September 15th. This covers the cost of our local League’s pledge to the National LWVUS and its publication “The Voter” issued 4 times a year plus the state League and its publication “Colorado Voter” (published quarterly). The financial support of our local league activities, including the newsletter and other publications, registration for workshops and special projects, comes from member donations above the $48.00 level. We appreciate any donations in excess of the dues. Thank you for your consideration. Dues levels are as follows:
Friend $48.00 (basic dues) Sustaining $75.00
Supporting $60.00 Advocate $100.00
Checks may be made payable to LWV of Adams County and mailed to: SHIRLEY MROCHEK, TREASURER, 10781 WANDA LANE, NORTHGLENN, CO 80234
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Margaret Stuvel, Voter Editor
LWV of AdamsCounty